Combined steam and combustion gas turbine



March 4, 194-7. 3 NEWCQMER 2,416,942

Q COMBINED STEAM AND COMBUSTION GAS TURBINE 2 sheets-sh eet 1 Filed Aug. 1, 1944 March 4, 1947. B, NEWCQMER 2,416,942

COMBINED STEAM AND COMBUSTION GAS TURBINE Filed Aug. 1, 1944 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 azwemam 4 INVENTOR.

Patented Mar. 4, 1947 COMBINED STEAM AND COMBUSTION GAS TURBINE Benjamin Franklin Newcomer, Washington, D. 0.

Application August 1, 1944, Serial No. 547,567

This invention relates to a combined steam and gas turbine, one of the objects being to provide a turbine utilizing burning fuel as the primary motive force, the hot products of combustion, through their expansion, serving to impart a rotary motion :to the revolving element or rotor of the turbine while, at the same time, the heat generated by the burning fuel is utilized to convert into steam, water admitted to the turbine, thereby providing an added motive force in the form of the generated steam and at the same time controlling the temperature of the turb ne so that it will not become excessively high and interfere with the proper functioning of the turbine.

With the foregoing and other objects in view which will appear as the description proceeds, the invention consists of certain novel details of construction and combinations of parts hereinafter more fully described and pointed out in the claims, it being understood that changes may be made in the construction and arrangement of parts without departing from the spirit of the invention as claimed.

In the accompanying drawings the preferred form of the invention has been shown.

In said drawings Figure 1 is a side elevation of the turbine housing. parts being broken away to show a portion of the stator'and rotor in side elevation and portions of the stator and rotor in section substantially on line II, Figure-2.

Figure 2 is a view partly in elevation and partly in section taken at right angles to Figure 1, the section being substantially on the line 2-2, Figure 1.

Figure 3 is a section throughone side portion of the turbine, said section being taken on the line 3-3, Figure 1.

Figure 4' is a section through a, portion of one of the exhaust chambers taken on the line 4-4, Figure 1.

Figure 5 is a section on line 5-5, Figure 2.

Referring to the figures by characters of reference, I designates the substantially cylindrical housing of the turbine having a removable head 2 at each end, these heads and the housing being detachably joined byv any well known means. Each head has a central bearing 3 and provided on the inner surface of each head is a circular rib 4 concentric with the head.

A shaft 5 journaled in the bearing 3 carries the rotor 6 of the turbine. This rotor is formed of opposed similar disks 1 and 8 the marginal portion of each-of which is extended laterally so that the two disks thus cooperate to form a. rim

2 Claims. (01; 60-'-49) 9 having a circular generating chamber I0 therein. The rim is extended around and fits closely to the ribs 4 and in each of the outer sides of the rim is an annular series of buckets II working close against the respective heads 2 and opening at their outer ends into annular chambers I2 each of which has an exhaust port I3.

The generating chamber ID has parallel laterally spaced annular series of portsor ducts'extending through the periphery of the rotor and separated by vanes I9, all of which are preferably curved outwardly and backwardly away from the direction of the rotation of the rotor, as has been shown in Figure 1, and the inner sides'of the series of vanes are joined by shrouds IS.

The stator includes opposed rings I4 which are fitted snugly within the housing I and are held against rotation relative thereto. The opposed rings l4 cooperate with each other and with the housing I to form an annular exhaust chamber 20 having a suitably located outlet or exhaust port 2|. The opposed rings I4 also constitute the inner side walls of the annular exhaust chambers [2,

Rings I4 are located at opposite sides of a ring like plate I5 and secured to the plate tightly so as to hold it fixed'relative to the other parts of the stator. This plate I5 extends between the rings I6, permitting the rotor to turn freely, and extending through plate I5 is a water supply pipe which opens into steam generating chamber I0 and also extends outwardly through the exhaust chamber 20 and the housing I so as to be connected readily to a source of water supply.

Rings I4 are fixed to sides of the gripped plate I5, with annular series of ports defined by spaced vanes or partitions I8 which have their inner edges so located as to be in close proximity to, but not in interference with, the outer edges of the vanes I9, as the vanes I9 sweep past them during the actuation of the rotor. provide communication between the ports defined by vanes I9, and the steam exhaust chamber 20.

The buckets I I which are carried by the respective side portions of the rotor are closed at their inner ends by the ribs 4 but open at their outer or opposite ends into the respective exhaust chambers I2, which are out of communication with the exhaust chamber 20.

Opening through the respective heads 2 are nozzles 22 inclined in the direction of rotation of the rotor and so positioned that when a combustible mixture of oil and air, or the like, is ignited within the nozzles, the hot products of combustion, because of the kinetic energy, exerted These ports 3 thereby within the buckets adjacent to the nozzles, will efiect actuation of the rotor and cause the buckets to be brought successively into position at the nozzles. The energy is expended through the open ends of the buckets into the 5 exhaust chambers I2 and thence to the ports l3.

Obviously, the combustion of fuel as described, will heat the rotor to a high temperature and the thermal units conducted through said rotor to the chamber will cause said chamber to 10 act as a "flash generator for converting the water in said chamber 10 practically instantaneouslyinto steam. This rapid generation of steam results in its escape, under high pressure, through the ports defined by the vanes I9 and the annular series of jets of steam thus discharged con-. tinuously between the many vanes l 9 will be projected against the-stationary vanes l8 and then escape by way of exhaust chamber into the outlet 2|. As the vanes l9 are pitched outwardly 20 and backwardly away from the direction of rotation of the rotor, the impact of the steam jets thereagainst produces a reactive force which forces the rotor to travel in the direction in which the expanding gases are propelling it. Thus the steam and the expanding gases supplement each other to effect actuation of the rotor,

An important feature of the invention is found in the fact that the generation of steam in the rotor serves to keep down the temperature of the rotor which, otherwise, would become excessive because of the hot products of combustion directed against the buckets at the sides of the rotor. Because of this cooling ,action, the turbine can be made of metals having a lower melting point than heretofore required in the construction of jet motors or the like where burn- ,ing gases are employed as the motive force.

What is claimed is:

1. A turbine including a housing having opposed heads, opposed rings fixed relative to the housing and heads and defining an annular steam exhaust chamber and annular side exhaust chambers, a rotor between the heads and having annular series of radial buckets in the sides thereof opening into the respective side exhaust cham- 'bers, said buckets being closed at their inner ends, an annular steam generating chamber in the rotor, annular series of vanes defining spaced ports opening from the steam generating chamber through the periphery of the rotor, annular series of vanes integral with the rings and defining ports leading from .the inner peripheries of the rings to the steam exhaust chamber, said ports communicating between the aforesaid ports opening from the steam generating chamber, and the ering water through the housing and rotor and into the steam generating chamber for conversion into steam, the relative positions of the annular series of vanes defining the ports opening from the steam generating chamber being such ato effect actuation of the rotor by the escaping generated'steam.

2. A turbine including a stator, the stator/having a circular steam exhaust chamber therein.

provided with an 'outlet,'an annular series of vanes at the inner periphery of the steam exhaust chamber, defining intake ports, the stator also having circular gas-exhaust chambers at the sides of but out of communication with the steam exhaust chamber, said gas exhaust chambers having outlets from the stator, a rotor in the stator,

side buckets carried thereby and opening radially into the side exhaust chambers, the rotor having a circular steam generating chamber, an annular series of vanes in the rotor, defining ports leading from the steam generating chamber, and

:opening into the series of ports in the stator; said rotor vanes being pitched'in a direction to actuate the rotation-of the rotor, and means for directing burning fuel into the sides of the stator and against the buckets thereby .to actuate the rotor by the'kinetic energy of the burning fuel and to heat the rotor and the chamber therein,

and means for directing -water into said rotor chamber for conversion into steam,

BENJAMIN FRANKLIN NEWCOMER.

REFERENCES CITED I The following references are of record in the file of this patent:

UNITED STATES PATENTS Number Name Date 7 1,284,841 Weiss Nov. 12, 1913 FOREIGN PATENTS Number Country 7 Date 499,551 7 German June 7,, 1 930 499,874:

German June 14, 1930 l 

